Washoe County Library System

"A deluxe hardcover edition of the queen of science fiction's trailblazing novel about a planet full of genderless beings--part of Penguin Galaxy, a collectible series of six sci-fi/fantasy classics, featuring a series introduction by Neil Gaiman A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary's mission to Winter, an unknown alien world whose inhabitants can choose--and change--their...

On May 25, 1977, the world was introduced to Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, C-3PO, R2-D2, Chewbacca, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Darth Vader, and a galaxy full of possibilities. In honor of the fortieth anniversary, more than forty contributors lend their vision to this retelling of Star Wars. Each of the forty short stories reimagines a moment from the original film, but through the eyes of a supporting character. From a Certain Point of View features...

Legendary author Ray Bradbury unfolds the story of humankind's conquest and colonization of Mars. In a bid to save themselves from Earth's imminent destruction, humans send several explorations to the Red Planet. Although secretive, the Martians are inviting at first. However, disease carried to Mars by the human colonists soon sparks an intergalactic war.

"Parable of the Sower is the Butlerian odyssey of one woman who is twice as feeling in a world that has become doubly dehumanized. The time is 2025. The place is California, where small walled communities must protect themselves from hordes of desperate scavengers and roaming bands of people addicted to a drug that activates an orgasmic desire to burn, rape, and murder. When one small community is overrun, Lauren Olamina, an 18 year old black woman...

"After nearly a decade away, Nebula Award-winning author Elizabeth Moon makes a triumphant return to science fiction with a thrilling new series featuring the daring hero of her acclaimed Vatta's War sequence. Summoned to the home planet of her family's business empire, space-fleet commander Kylara Vatta is told to expect a hero's welcome. But instead, she is thrown into danger unlike any other she has faced and finds herself isolated, unable to communicate...

"Milennia have passed on Arrakis, and he once-desert planet is green with life. Leto Atreides, the son of the world's savior, the Emperor Paul Muad'Dib, is still alive but far from human. Th preserve humanity's future, he sacrificed his own by merging with a sandworm, granting him near immortality as God Emperor of Dune for the past thirty-five hundred years. Leto's rule is not a benevolent one. His transformation has made not only his appearance...

Focuses on the malicious practices of the Clarissa Frayne Institute for Parentally Challenged Boys. When Cosmo Hill enters Satellite City, he soon realizes that the institute is nothing like an orphanage and actually uses boys to test products for profit. Cosmo ends up nearly dead one day after these tests and is almost taken away by Parasites, creatures that feed on the soul. That's when the Supernaturalists rescue him and adopt him. Follow them...

"Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he's sure he'll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he's alive--and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. Chances are, though, he...

“Wonderfully entertaining . . . a story that engrosses you with its dramatized ideas about the nature of existence . . . You won’t set the book down either to eat or sleep or work if you can help it.”—Chicago Tribune 

In an instant, Earth is carved up in time and reassembled like a huge jigsaw puzzle. Suddenly the world becomes a patchwork of eras, from prehistory to 2037, each with its own...

This New York Times–bestselling chapter in the Hugo Award–winning Space Odyssey series is “intriguing and satisfying . . . the all-round best Odyssey so far” (Kirkus Reviews).
 
The third book in Clarke’s beloved Space Odyssey continues the story of Heywood Floyd, survivor of two previous encounters with the mysterious monoliths and the alien intelligences behind them....